Hi Sherry Anne

At the Museum of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia we have been operating
for the last seven years a very successful Outreach program which is
designed around reminiscence therapy. We offer the program in the form
of kits and visits to regular meeting places in the community.

The program is targetted towards active seniors and the less mobile
Nursing Home residents. We often encounter people from very diverse
backgrounds, e.g from the country or city, and from people with English
as a second language. We find the very act of "reminiscence" or
recalling the past provides a very stimulating environment and
participants actively share memories.

The Outreach program was initially developed in partnership with
external organisations such a the Mayfield Education Centre and the
Victoria Alzheimer's Association. We are regularly invited to conduct
workshops for carers/workers in the field on how to set up their own
reminiscence kits.

I am more than happy to discuss further as to how we have applied
remiscence therapy to Museum programming. If you wish to contact me my
email address is:    [log in to unmask]

regards

Bronwyn Thompson

> ----------
> From:         Sherry Anne Chapman[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Reply To:     Museum discussion list
> Sent:         Wednesday, 3 December 1997 1:36 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Reminiscence Therapy and Museum Theatre
>
> Hello!
>
> I am a programmer at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta. I have a
> special interest in the use of museum theatre and have been
> experimenting with it at Glenbow for the past three years. Through the
> past year, I have come to focus on seniors as a visitor group to
> Glenbow and have been programming for them.
>
> Now, I am looking at ways to bring the medium of museum theatre
> together with an audience category of senior visitors. I am interested
> to know if anyone else on the list has experience with this
> combination of factors:
>
> Is anyone using Reminiscence Therapy in museum programming? This is an
> active and developing field in the United Kingdom from what I
> understand.
>
> Has anyone developed Reminiscence Kits or boxes for seniors
> particularly as an outreach program to continuing care facilities?
>
> Is anyone offering museum theatre programs based upon reminiscences of
> older adults? Age Exchange Theatre Trust Ltd. in London does this very
> thing. I recently heard about the Trust through an interactive theatre
> workshop with Lisa Doolittle who is at the University of Lethbridge,
> Alberta.
>
> I would really like to get a sense of what is happening "out there"
> and would like to hear from anyone who has any connection to the
> above. Please email me directly at:
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> If anyone is interested in the responses, please let me know.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Sherry Anne Chapman
> Live Interpreter
> Glenbow
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.glenbow.org
> 130 - 9th Avenue S.E.
> Calgary, Alberta
> T2G 0P3
>